{"id":40519,"date":"2015-04-09T14:04:26","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T18:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=40519"},"modified":"2023-04-27T10:52:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T14:52:25","slug":"the-three-step-process-for-a-trader-or-investor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/the-three-step-process-for-a-trader-or-investor","title":{"rendered":"The Three-Step Process For a Trader or Investor"},"content":{"rendered":"

**This is the third\u00a0in a series of\u00a0posts from Bruce Bower related to “Peak Performance” the topic of his new\u00a0book that SMB U will be releasing April 20th**<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Bruce Bower<\/p>\n

When investing or trading, we obviously all want to be a success. We get in to the markets because we want to make money, to have a good retirement, and want to feel successful in what we\u2019re doing. That\u2019s certainly a possibility.<\/p>\n

As we have discussed numerous times, trading and investing are peak performance activities. They require us to make to make difficult risk\/reward decisions under pressure. They push us to our mental limit. We can learn a lot from other peak performers about how to push ourselves and reach the next level.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one key difference. In our field, there\u2019s no gameplan. There is no real instructional manual. There is no well-trodden path to success. There\u2019s no Little Leagues and no farm system. If you want to make it, you\u2019ll have to succeed on your own.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to have a gameplan? A roadmap for success? A way of thinking about the markets that would put you on the path to success? \u00a0It may not grant you the instant capability to make millions of dollars a year, but it won\u2019t hurt. It could even get you on your way.<\/p>\n

My new book is designed to do just that. It is a holistic look at investing and trading of any style. The recommendations and lessons are designed to be broadly applicable to anybody, at any stage. It\u2019s more about instilling some basic principles and best practices that anyone can use. I am trying to help you build your own gameplan and approach.<\/p>\n

The model that I use to describe trading and investing is three-step:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Plan the Trade<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Trade The Plan<\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Review\/Tweak<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Overall, we should be thinking very carefully about crafting the right plan in advance. Then we make sure that we carry out the plan to the best of our potential and capabilities. Lastly, we look over how we did, both overall and compared to our plan, and we come up with the relevant tweaks.<\/p>\n

    If this three-part plan sounds somewhat familiar, that\u2019s because it should. It draws on the research about peak performance and the development in expertise in many fields. Peak performers prepare for their practice and main events diligently, always having a plan. They choose several specific goals and train hard to get there, or they have a game plan for the big event. Then comes the practice or the big game, where they give it their all and try to stick to their plan, in order to get the most out of their preparation. By planning well, they can stay rooted in the face of stressful or unexpected conditions. Lastly, they diligently review their performance and then think of the many areas where they could improve. They are obsessive about improving their performance in every way possible, never settling.<\/p>\n

    What does it mean, practically speaking for your own investing and trading? How do you put this three-part model into effect and make it happen? Let\u2019s drill down into each step and see what\u2019s required, how it works, etc.<\/p>\n

    Plan the Trade<\/b><\/p>\n

    \u201cIf you fail to plan, you are planning to fail\u201d \u2013 Benjamin Franklin<\/i><\/p>\n

    A plan is your strategy, your gameplan for the markets. It is designed to give you a workable plan of action, so that you know what you will be doing. It also should give you a strong filter, so that you can block out the many things that don\u2019t matter and avoid doing stupid or distracting things. Your goal is to have a solid checklist for how you think about and research the markets; for exactly when you put on and take off individual positions; and managing risk overall.<\/p>\n

    The most basic part of the plan is knowing which markets you will be in. You should define or clarify which markets you will be trading or investing in. Are you in commodity futures or all kinds of futures? Are you investing in corporate bonds? Trading forex intraday? You should define it in advance, because you\u2019ll want to restrict your focus to these markets and to make sure that you\u2019re getting the most out of it. You will find it helpful to specialize in and focus on the markets that you know.<\/p>\n

    Not only should you know the markets that you\u2019ll be in, you should have a clear idea of your \u201cedge\u201d\u2014what you can to do make money and why it works. If you are a long-term investor in stocks, then you know that a Warren Buffet-style approach relies on buying good businesses at a discount to intrinsic value. If you trade futures using technical analysis, then you are taking advantage of short-term supply\/demand dynamics. If you are a macro investor, then you are putting on positions when the macro variables get too far out of line with the underlying fundamentals.<\/p>\n

    You should have a good idea for a style and strategy if you draw upon your own experiences. If you are a complete beginner, then read my post \u201cHow to Start Trading Without A Methodology<\/a>\u201d, and remember\u2014it\u2019s okay to copy someone else\u2019s strategy! The more difficult part will be implementing it correctly, because that will come down to psychology.<\/p>\n

    As discussed in one of Seven Lessons posts<\/a>, your plan should be a checklist. This means a methodical, step-by-detailed-step plan of how you take all of the information in the world and condense and filter it down into something useful and actionable. It should guide you along the way as you see what needs to happen before you put on a position or take one off. You can also use it as a way to determine your overall conviction level in a trade or the right position sizing. You want to have a system to get from A to Z, and have it transcribed. \u00a0Mohnish Pabrai, the famous value investor, has a checklist with \u201cdozens\u201d of items on the list<\/a>. He uses this list to both to determine what to invest in and also to decide position sizing. He credits the introduction of a checklist with giving him more intellectual rigor in his investing and with creating a significant improvement in his results.<\/p>\n

    One of the last reasons why we\u2019re so deliberate about how we get into a position is because we use the same criteria to judge when we get out. For instance, your investment process could have three main criteria for buying a stock. Once those three criteria are no longer valid, either because of the stock\u2019s price performance or because you got some of your analysis wrong, then you close the position.<\/p>\n

    Tomorrow we will discuss Parts II & III of this process.<\/p>\n

    *No relevant positions<\/p>\n

    Attend our next FREE webinar on “Peak Performance Trading & Investing” on April 13th Where Bruce will reveal the keys to developing a successful system for attacking any market in any time frame.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    **This is the third\u00a0in a series of\u00a0posts from Bruce Bower related to “Peak Performance” the topic of his new\u00a0book that SMB U will be releasing April 20th** By Bruce Bower When investing or trading, we obviously all want to be a success. We get in to the markets because we want to make money, to have a good retirement, and … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2008,456,1373,15],"tags":[4690,4685,1719],"class_list":["post-40519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bruce-bower","category-trader_development","category-trading-lesson","category-trading_theory","tag-trading-education","tag-trading-lesson","tag-trading-plan","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Three-Step Process For a Trader or Investor | SMB Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/the-three-step-process-for-a-trader-or-investor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Three-Step Process For a Trader or Investor | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"**This is the third\u00a0in a series of\u00a0posts from Bruce Bower related to “Peak Performance” the topic of his new\u00a0book that SMB U will be releasing April 20th** By Bruce Bower When investing or trading, we obviously all want to be a success. 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